Abstract
Jasmonates (JA: jasmonic acid, and MeJA: methyl jasmonate) are signaling compounds involved in various physiological events such as stress responses. Unlike Arabidopsis thaliana or Lycopersicon esculentum on which jasmonates are functionally well-documented, involvement of jasmonates in legume to control a complicated secondary metabolic pathway or a symbiotic relationship with rhizobia is still unclear. To unravel roles of jasmonates in a model legume Lotus iaponicus comprehensively, we screened 18,144 non-redundant ESTs by cDNA macroarray, and 437 ESTs were identified as MeJA-responsive genes. These include transcriptionally well-characterized JA biosynthesis genes, stress-responsive genes, nodulins, and genes involved in secondary metabolism. Then, we compared these genes with those which express during nodulation (Kouchi et al 2004). The result indicates that MeJA-responsive genes which also express during nodulation mostly express in early stage of nodulation. We will present characterization of those MeJA-responsive genes by functions and analyses of their response to wounding or nodulation.
